The L.A. Times music blog

Dam-Funk explains how to keep one's 'Hood Pass Intact'

September 23, 2010 | 4:18
pm

Dam Funk's hood pass remains so durable that he can wear a velvet fedora, smoke cloves, sip daiquiris and still be beloved everywhere from San Pedro to Chatsworth. Many cannot do such things, but then, most haven't collaborated with MC Eiht and Westside Connection. Nor do we properly understand how to wield a vocoder, the soundtrack to L.A. anthems since the days of Zapp and the Egyptian Lover. And indeed, Dam-Funk is the rightful heir to their throne -- a polymath able to play the keytar and the talkbox, and DJ obscure boogie jams with obscene and innate levels of funk.

Directed by Henry DeMaio, the video for "Hood Pass Intact" captures a day in the life of Damon Riddick. The conceit was simple. Follow him around with cameras as he goes through his daily routine, which involves coffee in diners, getting down at the Funkmosphere, buying vintage gear and passing out ice cream to local children.

And for those questioning why he'd wear a Pittsburgh Pirates cap in a video celebrating L.A. life, he's repping his native Pasadena. Essentially, it proves that he's the funk Ferris Bueller. But don't expect to see him tooling around in a Ferrari 250 GT anytime soon. Dam's more of a vintage Chrysler Cordoba man -- which is to be expected from someone whose hood pass is inalienable.